Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) eyewear designer Blake Kuwahara has announced the launch of his fifth annual Pride frame, the ESHERICK Pride, in honor of Pride Month in June 2026. Kuwahara is partnering with fellow CFDA eyewear designer Jeff Press to donate proceeds from their respective Pride frames to Bring Change to Mind (BC2M), a nonprofit focused on ending stigma surrounding mental health.
This cause is part of the Eyewear Designers of the CFDA (edCDFA) Pride Eyewear Initiative, launched in 2022 to support needs within LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming communities.
Focus on Youth Mental Health
Proceeds from the 2026 Pride frames will support BC2M’s LGBTQ+ Youth Mental Health Task Force, which focuses on building empathetic allies and providing support for LGBTQ+ students.
BC2M, founded by actress Glenn Close, works to normalize conversations around mental health through multimedia campaigns, storytelling, and youth-focused programs. Its High School Club network spans 43 states and engages more than 14,000 students annually. More than 100,000 students have participated in the program in the last nine years.
Partnership for a Cause
Over the past four years, Blake Kuwahara Eyewear has donated more than $65,000 to LGBTQ+ organizations through the program. Kuwahara, founder of Focus Group West, has collaborated with multiple fashion brands while garnering multiple design awards.
“Access to mental health resources particularly for the younger LGBTQ+ population is critical and often lacking in most communities,” says Kuwahara. “We’re honored to partner for the second time with BC2M to help them continue their support programs and to broaden their reach to even more high schools across the United States.
“We are excited to partner with the designers that will be donating a percentage of their Pride Collection sales to enable the growth of our LBGTQ+ programs,” adds Pamela Harrington, BC2M executive director. “BC2M’s peer-led clubs are building safe spaces for students to convene in their schools, create connectivity, build critical supports, promote allyship, and save lives.”